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Corruption in the Western Balkans: BRIBERY AS EXPERIENCED by the POPULATION

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Corruption in the Western Balkans: BRIBERY AS EXPERIENCED by the POPULATION Vienna International Centre, PO Box 500, 1400 Vienna, Austria Tel.: (+43-1) 26060-0, Fax: (+43-1) 26060-5866, www.unodc.org CORRUPTION IN THE WESTERN BALKANS BRIBERY AS EXPERIENCED BY THE POPULATION BRIBERY Corruption in the western Balkans: BRIBERY AS EXPERIENCED BY THE POPULATION Co-fi nanced by the European Commission UNITED NATIONS OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIME Vienna Corruption in the western Balkans: BRIBERY AS EXPERIENCED BY THE POPULATION Copyright 2011 © United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Acknowledgements This report was prepared by UNODC Statistics and Surveys Section (SASS). Research coordination and report preparation: Enrico Bisogno (SASS) Felix Reiterer (SASS) Michael Jandl (SASS) Philip Davis (SASS) Field research and country/area analysis: Albania: Ines Nurja, Ledia Thomo, Anisa Omuri (Institute of Statistics of Albania) Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo: Dino Djipa, Adana Celik, Venera Ndreca (Prism Research) Croatia: Jelena Budak, Edo Rajh (Institute of Economics, Zagreb) Serbia: Dragan Vukmirovic, Slavko Kapuran, Jelena Budimir, Vladimir Sutic, Dragana Djokovic Papic, Tijana Milojevic (Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia) The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: Blagica Novkovska, Helena Papazoska, Kiril Trajanoski (State Statistical Office) Design and layout: Suzanne Kunnen (STAS) Drafting and editing: Jonathan Gibbons Supervision: Sandeep Chawla (Director, Division of Policy Analysis and Public Affairs) and Angela Me (Chief, SASS) Appreciation and gratitude go to the Bosnia and Herzegovina Agency for Statistics (BHAS) and the Statisti- cal Office of Montenegro (MONSTAT) for the technical support they provided in conducting the survey in their respective countries. The contribution of Milva Ekonomi in the development of survey methodology is also gratefully acknowledged. All surveys were conducted and reports prepared with the financial support of the European Commission and the Government of Norway. Sincere thanks are expressed to Roberta Cortese (European Commission) for her continued support. Disclaimers This report has not been formally edited. The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of UNODC or contributory organizations and neither do they imply any endorsement. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion on the part of UNODC concerning the legal status of any country, territory or city or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. All references to Kosovo in the present publication should be understood to be in the context of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999). Photos: The pictures are used for illustration only and were not taken in the context of corruption. © OSCE CONTENT Preface 5 Executive summary 7 Introduction 11 1. Prevalence of bribery 15 2. Nature of bribes 19 3. Public officials and bribery 25 4. Reporting of bribery 31 5. Other forms of corruption 35 6. Vulnerabilities to bribery 39 7. Perceptions and opinions about corruption 43 8. Prevalence and patterns of other forms of crime 47 9. Concluding remarks 53 10. Factsheets 55 11. Methodological annex 65 3 PREFACE Corruption is a notoriously difficult phenom- As a result of this collaborative study, which is enon to quantify, yet in one form or another based on a large-scale sample survey of more it plays a role in every country on our planet. than 28,000 interviewees across the western Like the wind, corruption remains invisible Balkans, we now have greater understanding though its destructive capacity is plain to see. of the nature of corruption and its impact on But in contrast to our knowledge of the ele- the everyday lives of people in the region. It ments, we still lack systematic evidence on the captures the actual experience—not the per- nature and patterns of corruption. ception—of ordinary citizens and how bribery affects their dealings with the public adminis- For the countries of the western Balkans, cor- tration. The report analyzes the sectors most ruption is an issue of particular concern affected, the role of public officials and bribe- because of its detrimental impact on their payers, forms of bribery and other relevant social and economic development. Moreover, issues. This information will aid in the devel- as this report demonstrates, corruption is a opment of effective anti-corruption policies. It major concern of ordinary citizens in the also provides a benchmark to assess future region. Even so, that does not make it any progress. easier to address the problem, or even broach the subject. The countries of the western Although this report provides a comparative Balkans are to be commended for acknowl- analysis, it is not an attempt to rank the par- edging the need to conduct this evidence- ticipating countries or areas on a corruption based survey as part of their ongoing efforts to scale. On the contrary, the aim is to learn from curb corruption. their different experiences—which can help to develop good practices—and to increase On the basis of a bilateral agreement between awareness that the battle against corruption is the European Commission and the relevant a common one that is best waged with help national authorities of the western Balkan from neighbouring countries. region, UNODC supported each country or area in conducting large-scale surveys on cor- Detailed individual reports have also been ruption in 2010. In most cases, national sta- published for each country or area of the west- tistical authorities were directly or indirectly ern Balkans that was surveyed. This wealth of involved in implementing the survey, while information will shed needed light on the other stakeholders contributed to the develop- nature and local patterns of corruption and ment of its methodology. can assist policymakers in developing anti- 5 CORRUPTION IN THE WESTERN BALKANS : bribery as experienced by the population corruption measures and plans that are more can make anti-corruption policies and meas- precisely tailored to national conditions. ures. Reducing corruption enables Govern- ments to function more effectively and better Combating corruption effectively requires the serve their citizens, fosters rather than impedes implementation of specific, well-targeted development, and improves the lives of ordi- measures. The United Nations Convention nary people. against Corruption provides States with the essential elements to develop the legislative and institutional framework and a number of preventive measures to fight corruption. In this context, the findings in this report can help identify priority areas for action. The European Commission and the Govern- ment of Norway deserve our thanks for sup- porting this important regional survey. The Yury Fedotov more information we can gather about cor- Executive Director ruption, the more effective and targeted we United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 6 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Corruption is often reported to be an area of nificant number of them are of a dubious vulnerability for the countries of the western variety. Although there are notable variations Balkans. It is considered one of the main between countries, on average, one in six citi- causes hindering their economic and social zens of the region has either direct or indirect development as well as their European Union exposure to an act of bribery with a public accession process, and the international com- official on a yearly basis. But when focusing munity is not alone in its awareness of the on bribes actually paid, the percentage of citi- problem. Results presented in this report show zens who pay at least one bribe in the same that the people of Albania, Bosnia and Herze- period—among those who have contacts with govina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia the public administration—is 12.5 per cent at and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedo- a regional level. And those who pay at least nia rank corruption as the most important one bribe actually do so with considerable problem facing their countries/areas after regularity—on average, about once every ten unemployment and poverty. weeks. When looking at national data for Corruption comes in many guises and, in these and other indicators it is clear that no contrast to other surveys that look at people’s corruption scale can be developed for ranking perceptions, this survey focuses on the actual the countries of the western Balkans since it is experience of administrative corruption and perfectly possible that the high value of a par- provides information on the nature of bribery ticular indicator in one country is associated and its procedures. This is the kind of petty with low values in other variables. corruption that affects the daily lives of ordi- The face of corruption is all too familiar but nary people in their dealings with the public the one seen in the western Balkans has slightly administration, the service provider which different features to those in other parts of the plays such a huge role in contemporary society world. For example, the global tendency is for that a remarkable eight out of ten adult citi- corruption to be mainly an urban phenome- zens of the western Balkans interact with it at non, yet in the western Balkans it appears to some point during the course of the year. be slightly more prevalent in rural areas than Such dealings may be for anything from a in urban areas. And while, as to be expected, medical visit or school enrolment to the issue more men pay bribes than women, despite of a new passport or driving licence but, established gender roles that assign more according to the results of this survey, a sig- home-based activities to women, the differ- 7 CORRUPTION IN THE WESTERN BALKANS : bribery as experienced by the population ence between the sexes is not that marked bribes in order to facilitate or benefit from a (13.3% and 11.7%, respectively). particular administrative procedure: for every four who do so there is one who refuses, turn- Western Balkan women are evidently no ing down the request made by a public offi- strangers to corruption but they go about the cial.
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